Free Accommodation Whilst Travelling

Wanderlust is contagious, everyone wants to travel and see the world. although, the high expenses of travelling the world often get in the way of people living their dreams. That being said, there are ways to travel and see the world without having to sell your kidneys to fund it.

Here are some ways to travel without having to pay for accommodation:

House Sitting

House owners prefer to leave knowing their home will be secure and well looked after in the hands of a house sitter. The responsibilities of the house sitter are often: looking after the plants and pets and keeping the house clean and tidy.

House sitting is often free and sits can vary in length. From homeowners enjoying a weekend away, to them travelling and leaving home for months.

This is a form of travelling which is increasing in popularity, travellers are enjoying spacious comfortable accommodation with a whole hose to themselves. Gone are the days of cramping yourself into a hostel room, climbing ladders to get to the top bunk in a bed. Not only is this form of accommodation free, sometimes the home owners even leave a fridge and freezer full of food for you to tuck into!

Couch Surfing

There are many apps which help put travellers in contact with locals offering a place to stay, the most popular is Couch Surfing. It is user friendly with thousands of hosts offering either a couch or spare room to sleep.

Often travellers get more than just a place to sleep with hosts generously sharing their food and even acting as a personal tour guide showing guests around cities.

The app also has hangouts, where you can meet other travellers who are also new to the city, in case your hosts are busy working.

Befriend Other Travellers

Socializing and making friends whilst travelling is the easiest way to find free accommodation. This is especially useful if you are travelling for longer periods of time, touring around multiple countries. Not relying on Facebook and apps to meet people, travel back in time and befriend people the old-fashioned way rejoicing in the art of conversation. Meet people in one country, travel home with them and stay at theirs whilst visiting another country.

Even if plans are not made, let people know you will be in their neck of the woods, often before even asking they will have offered a bed or couch to sleep on.

Volunteering

Immerse in another culture through volunteering abroad. Usually in communities off the beaten track, living the locals way of life.

Helping build and develop a community, making a real difference. Many charities and organisations cannot offer payment for the work so instead offer volunteers free accommodation.

Help Exchange

Working in exchange for board can be arranged all over the world. The variety of jobs is ever growing: au pairing, cleaning, cooking, bar work, agriculture, building and repair work. The limits are endless. The flat earth society are always looking for people to find the edge of the earth and explorers are always recruiting for the search for Big Foot. You can stay for months or even years for free.

Camping

Camping can guide you further off the beaten track without requiring a need of internet to find accommodation. It is liberating being able to pitch your tent wherever you land for the night, not having to trek and find a hostel or guest house for the night.

Avoid campsites, these can be even more expensive than stay at a hostel. Just pitch your tent where you want to end the day. Travellers who look unthreatening can often ask locals if they can pitch their tents in back gardens.

Work A Passage

An amazing way to see the world from a different side it to work a massage and get up close and personal with oceans and seas.

You may need to plan this in advance, there is often a need for many different types of jobs. From housekeeping, kitchen porters, shop assistants, entertainers and all in between. Cruise ships, yachts and hospital ships welcome workers offering free accommodation and sometimes wages too!

Stay At Airports

Arriving in a country after a night flight can often mean heading to a hostel just to pass out in bed. You might as well stay in the airport. More and more travellers are choosing to sleep at airports, there is nothing to be embarrassed about! Some of the chairs and benches at airports can be uncomfortable so if you are going to regularly be sleeping at airports you might want to travel with a sleeping mat.

Airports are the safest place to be, especially for lone female travellers, compared to stations and bus shelters. Also, airports are open 24/7 so no one is going to come and kick you out.

Modern airports have many different facilities for travellers to use, from showers to chapels and round the clock cafes. Even if you find it difficult to get to sleep, there are plenty of things to do!

Teach Abroad

Schools abroad invite native English-speakers to come and teach lessons to their students. No previous experience needed! They often host teachers in accommodation near the school, either privately or communally all together with other foreign teachers. If the school doesn’t provide accommodation, they will help you find a local place to stay before you start. Monthly salaries can cover the cost of living, if not provided for free.

Last time I looked into Couchsurfing, you have to be able to offer a couch of your own, which I would love to do, but it’s against my tenancy agreement 😦 Plus, I HATE camping, haha! Luckily, I have mates scattered throughout the UK I can crash with, but next weekend it’s my turn to host: three people are coming to stay with me in Brighton!
Rachel || anotherstationanothermile.com